Using Social Media To Boost Business

By Hedy M. Ratner

Can Internet “social media” sites such as Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, You Tube and blogs really help build business?  Better believe it.  Millions of entrepreneurs have created sites and pages populated with content that they hope will attract “friends” and “followers” and ultimately enhance their overall marketing efforts.

Among the millions are two Chicago entrepreneurs, both of whom are using social media in different ways.  P. J. McGuire, the 28-year-old founder of Modet, Inc., a company which focuses on training professionals in the art of etiquette and business protocol, jumped in head first late last year, when her corporate business stalled due to the recession.  Instead of targeting corporations, she decided to go after job-seekers and used social media to reach prospects.

“I decided to advance my company in all areas of social media,” says McGuire, who runs her business solo, with the help of two part-time interns. She established a Facebook page with different lists to keep her personal and business contacts separate.  She’s using Twitter and has built a respectable 400  Followers.  She established a blog called “One Rude Person,” uploaded a video on You Tube, and she’s even offered a couple of webinars.

Well, it’s working.  McGuire has seen a steady increase in traffic to her company web site, www.modet.com.  Her list of contacts is growing each week, and she’s been invited by more companies to submit proposals. 

She credits her success, in part, to a detailed social media plan-of-action and has spent hours learning the tips and tricks of sites such as Facebook but also creating a schedule and the content to populate each one.  “Time spent upfront is time saved in the end,” she adds, quoting a favorite college professor.

Seowa Gbala, the founder and president of IHS Training Services, is another Chicago area entrepreneur who’s embraced social media.  She’s limited her activity, however, to Linked In, a networking tool that helps businessmen and women make connections.  Gbala spends an hour a day checking out conversations on the Linked In Groups she joined and has over 2,000 contacts. 
She frequently posts a question: “Does anybody know about…?” as a way to generate feedback, and she’s also responded to others’ questions with her perspective. “My intent is not to sell my services but to offer guidance with no strings attached.  Have I gotten business?  Absolutely.”

To those who want to take advantage of social media marketing, McGuire and Gbala offer the following advice.

• Learn the basics about the popular social media outlets.  It takes time, especially if you’re from a generation which didn’t grow up using the Internet, My Space and Facebook, says McGuire. Take advantage of the “Help” links on these sites, she says, or consider a course at a local junior college, hiring a technology-savvy consultant or enlisting the aid of a technology-savvy teen or college student to shorten the learning time.  McGuire also suggests asking friends and colleagues for help.  “Most people want to help each other and are willing to share what they’ve learned.”
• Develop a detailed social media marketing plan.  “It’s critical to post content on the sites or pages regularly to build a following,” says McGuire.  “A written plan should be so detailed that you don’t even have to think about what you’re going to post or when.” For example, she created a series of Etiquette Tips of the Week for the remainder of the year, and she posts one each Thursday on her blog, Facebook page, Linked In account and a 140-letter version on Twitter.  Most mornings, while applying her make-up, she posts an item on Facebook and Twitter about a business meeting or a business-oriented task scheduled for that day (yes, her laptop sits right next to the mascara on the bathroom counter).  At night, she takes 15 minutes to post something personal, “so people can get to know me as a person.”  This could be her reaction to a restaurant, a movie or a best-seller. 
• Be willing to try something new.  McGuire paired up with an image consultant to videotape a seminar for the Chicago Urban League on the importance of image and manners in obtaining a job.  They obtained an electronic version of the video and uploaded it to You Tube.  Recently, a videographer pal offered to tape additional segments for You Tube in exchange for their professional services. 
• Recognize that social media marketing is a process.  Using social media is a lot of trial and error, says McGuire.  In an attempt to expand the e-learning division of her company, she signed up with a webinar production company and offered a series of on-line etiquette webinars for job-seekers.  Though 20 people signed up for each webinar, it was not enough to cover costs, and she is currently evaluating whether to use another webinar hosting service or discontinue them altogether for now.  But an attempt to expand her list of Followers on Twitter was a home run.  She “friended” a high-profile client who had 24,000 followers and another who had 66,000, which led to a big bump in those following her.  Gbala has found that sending an occasional “meeting request” on Linked In has more often than not resulted in meetings which led to a contract. 

Hedy Ratner is co-president of the Women's Business Development Center.  For programs and services, visit www.wbdc.org or call 312.853.3477. 

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